The Girls Trip

by Ally Condie

From the author of Reese's Book Club Pick and instant USA Today bestseller The Unwedding, a novel of suspense and friendship about three friends who decide to disappear from their lives for a few days while on a trip to a national park—only to have one of them vanish.

Hope, Ash, and Caro met at an online book club. Over the past two years, they’ve been there for each other in every way—except in person. When each of their lives reach a crossroads, they decide to meet in real life at the gorgeous Sonnet Resort at Eden National Park.

Hope, an actress, has become entirely too famous and needs to get away from it all. Ash, a successful online entrepreneur, isn’t sure what has happened to her marriage. Caro, a doctor, has lost a patient and doesn’t know if she wants to carry on or start all over. And none of them are telling each other the full story …

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Fiction, Suspense, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published April 7, 2026

About the author

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Unwedding, so I was genuinely excited to get my hands on this ARC—and I am so glad I had the chance to read it! I appreciated that this wasn’t the typical take on a girls’ trip set in some sunny, tropical locale. Instead, Condie delivers a fresh, atmospheric twist that made the story feel unique from the start.

Some readers have described the plot as chaotic or scattered, but for me, that slightly frenzied energy actually complemented the story and themes. The various subplots worked together to keep the momentum up and kept me guessing in all the best ways.

The ending was especially strong—everything tied together neatly, and the final chapter wrapped up lingering questions in a satisfying, thoughtful way. Overall, it was an engaging, cleverly layered read, and I’m already excited to see what Condie comes up with next!

** I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author and publisher! **

[Tini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girls gone missing.

In The Girls Trip, Ally Condie brings together three women - Hope, Ash, and Caro - who have built a close friendship online, despite having never actually met in person. Each of them is at a crossroads in her own life, so they decide to escape for a few days to a remote national park resort in Utah. It's meant to be a reset, a break, and a chance to finally meet face-to-face.

That is until, naturally, one of them disappears.

This is one of those books that is incredibly easy to sink into. The setting alone does a lot of heavy lifting: the Utah desert is rendered in a way that feels both beautiful and isolating, even slightly threatening, thus adding a constant undercurrent of tension and unease. It's atmospheric in the best way.

What really worked for me, though, were the characters. Hope, Ash, and Caro are all fully realized, complicated women, and - refreshingly - their friendship feels genuine and non-toxic. You want to root for them, even when you suspect they're not being entirely honest with each other (or themselves).

That said… things do go a bit off the rails toward the end. The final stretch leans more into chaos than cohesion, and while it didn't completely derail my enjoyment, it did feel like the story lost some of its earlier control. There were also a few very frustrating continuity hiccups that pulled me out of the narrative at times - though hopefully that's something that's been smoothed out in the final version.

Still, I had a genuinely good time with this book. It's tense, engaging, and easy to devour, with just enough twists to keep things moving, even if not all of them land perfectly.

An atmospheric, character-driven thriller that may wobble at the finish line, but is absolutely worth the trip for the ride (and the scenery) alone.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"The Girls Trip" was published on April 7, 2026, and is available now.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really should know not to read Reese's book club picks anymore.

[Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2/5

This book was a hot mess. Dialogue between the characters was strange. Random subplots that were boring and didn’t really go anywhere? So many bad decisions made by the characters including the actual reason they even went on this trip in the first place.

Spoilers incoming because now I have to rant…

So many parts of this book just didn’t make sense to me:

-Your friend group has a stalker and your first idea is to lure him out in the woods and do what? Great idea Jan
-You decide not to communicate to your “best friends” the actual plan you have and you’re just putting them in danger? What a great friend!!!!
-Hope was looking to lure their stalker out but had no plans on what to do when she got him? Just a burner phone, no signal, and a dream
-Caro and Hope meet during an online book club session and then Caro and her dad just happen to be intertwined into this story of a girl who died 12 years who also.. you guessed it… was killed by the girls stalker.

None of this would happen in a million years. Do not recommend this book. Way better thrillers out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

2026 is going to be a great year for thrillers! I really enjoyed this book. Some parts were a little predictable, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all. This was well-paced, I loved the different povs, and I was still guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc.

[✨Poppy✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley & Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!
This was fun!
Three online book club friends, Hope, Ash, and Caro decide to finally meet in person at the stunning Sonnet Resort after two years of virtual friendship. Each woman arrives at a crossroads: Hope fleeing fame, Ash questioning her marriage, and Caro reeling from a loss. But beneath their smiles, each is hiding the truth from the others.
This was such a fun and quick read! Told through multiple POVs, it kept me engaged the whole way through!

[Dallas Strawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ally Condie is an auto-buy author for me and I was super excited about this one because I loved the direction she went in her career with “The Unwedding” but unfortunately this one missed the mark. I thought it had a super fun premise and I enjoyed the female friendship storyline; but when it got to the 50% mark and the mystery started the book kind of fell apart.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this was a mess. Nothing felt plausible, the storylines were clunky, and the ending was ridiculous. I need a break from thrillers.

[Mia 🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ The start of this book was actually pretty interesting. It’s about three friends who met online and finally meet in real life at a gorgeous national park—but then one of them disappears. I liked seeing their friendships and all the secrets they were keeping from each other.

Once the plot really kicked in, things got kind of messy. The second half jumped around a lot, and some parts didn’t really make sense. The antagonist reveal felt really out of left field, and one of the side characters having her own secret agenda wasn’t made clear until the very end—it honestly should’ve been hinted at earlier because it felt super random when it finally showed up.

Overall, the book had a cool idea and the characters were fun, but the story didn’t quite stick the landing.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Shelby Hawk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated every second

[Angie Doerrer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn’t do it for me

[Amber Rothermel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 star read.

For the first 70% of the book, I was sure I missed a few chapters. It felt like I missed an important part of the book that told me why the girls were suspicious when Hope went missing. Didn’t she just fall in the canyon? The cops involved also made it seem odd when it was a flash flood. Which again, made me think I missed something.

The characters were ok, nothing to write home about. The dialogue seemed odd as well. Especially the conversations with Ash, Hope and Caro. There were a lot of useless characters and useless sub plots that just kind of faded away as well. Spencer and his crew? Maybe they were meant to be a red herring? But it didn’t make sense.

I did like how the book was different POVs. I especially enjoyed the few in italics. It gave a different feel to be the book and made it a bit supernatural.

All in all, this book wasn’t for me. The premise had me so excited, but it sadly fell flat.

[LibraryLaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded up.

The twists and turns kept me guessing, and I was invested in all three women's storylines. I really enjoyed this one!

*Thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lately, I’ve been going into my books quite blindly, so when I started The Girls Trip, I had no idea where it was going. The story takes some time to get going, and it’s not until around the 30% mark that things really start moving. The problem is that they then move at such a breakneck speed that I remained confused for most of the book.

But instead of that being a reason for me not to enjoy the story, it was quite the opposite. Were the main and secondary plotlines unbelievable, and the characters’ actions and reactions strange and even ludicrous? Yes. Was the storytelling disjointed, without enough backstory to support what it was trying to convey? Also yes. Was the main twist so out of the blue that I couldn’t have guessed it in a million years? Again, yes. Did I have a lot of fun while reading and practically inhale the book while trying to piece everything together? You bet.

This is the kind of popcorn thriller where it’s best not to nitpick or overanalyze every single scene or character motivation. In fact, the more I think about the story, the more convinced I am that it doesn’t make much sense. But sometimes, that’s exactly what you and your brain need: a couple of hours of mindless entertainment.

[Michele Dam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had EVERYTHING I usually love in a thriller and somehow still ended up exhausting me 😭

The Girls Trip by Ally Condie starts with such a good setup. A group of women from an online book club go on this isolated hiking trip through underground caverns, everyone has secrets, everyone feels suspicious, and we get unreliable narrators.

Which normally?? SIGN ME UP.

And honestly, the beginning hooked me. The atmosphere was creepy, the setting felt different from the usual thriller, and I kept waiting for all the lies and secrets to finally click together.

But the longer it went on, the more the story started unraveling for me.

Usually I LOVE unreliable narrators, but this just became messy instead of clever. The POV switches started feeling chaotic, things kept happening that felt unrealistic, and eventually I stopped caring about the mystery and just wanted the book to end.

The big reveal and stalker plotline especially felt completely out of nowhere. Not shocking in a fun way… more like “wait, what??”

I think this book tried really hard to be twisty and unpredictable, but for me it crossed into unbelievable territory.

There were still parts I liked mainly the atmosphere and premise but overall this one just didn’t come together for me.

Definitely one of those books where I loved the IDEA more than the actual execution.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review/

[Tiffany Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 women meet in an online book club during the pandemic. Years later they finally decide to meet in person at a beautiful resort at Eden National Park. They each are coming with their own secrets, and it ends up turning into the vacation from hell.

I was so engrossed in this story but in the end something just didn't blend for me. By the ending I was very confused and left thinking what the hell just happened and do I even care. I'm sorry but this was miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Emory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited with where I thought this book was going, but the actual payoff was pretty lame. I think I expected it to be a lot twistier, and then it ended up being much simpler explanation than what was being set up. The random red herrings sprinkled throughout were frustrating. The book is told in multiple POVs as well, but all the characters have very similar voices, and it was hard to differentiate between who was speaking.

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately any other book by Ally Condie outside of The Matched series just isn't for me :(

[Marissa (holdme.thrillme) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me in a chokehold! Three friends go on a trip, all of them have secrets, and one of them disappears. What’s not to love? This has all of the elements of a great thriller: twists, secrets, conflict, a dangerous setting, multiple POV, and misdirection. Once I started this book I was all in and read it so fast! The chapters were short and the book was fast paced enough to keep me interested until the last page. Each of the characters has their own storyline and I loved finding out more about them and what they had going on in their lives. I recommend this book for fans of entertaining thrillers that can be read quickly!

[Corinne Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Book Club friends finally decide to meet each other in person, so they go on a glamping trip where they will go hiking through some treacherous terrain. They’ve agreed that the place they are going will be kept a secret from their families. But each of them are carrying secrets of their own. Hope, with her issues of fame; Ash is hiding marital issues; and Caro is dealing with loss. Told from multiple POV, the story kept me engaged, as there were additional POV other than the 3 friends that kept me wondering what secrets they were hiding and how it was all going to tie in. I took off a star from my rating because the ending fell a little flat for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof. I haven't read a book that I have had this many issues with in a LONG TIME. But wow, I was in a rush to finish The Girls Trip, hoping it would get better, and instead I was left with more of a headscratcher.

Geez, you wanna talk about plot holes?! You wanna talk about the absolute STRETCHES of a plot? You wanna talk about how the whole catalyst of the mystery barely has any grounding (and nothing until more than halfway through the book!!)

Here's the thing: the premise would be good. Girlfriends meeting up for the first time and then someone goes missing. I'd read that. Heck, I'd even read the story of how someone arranges their own disappearance. But what I got instead, y'all, was just not well written. Not well developed.

[Kendall Branham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ally Condie fueled my middle school reading with the Matched series so of course I'll read anything she writes. I liked the premise of this thriller but felt like it was a bit slow to get to the main plot. Overall wasn't my favorite but I enjoyed it.

[Marisha (MarishaReadsALot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Grand Central Publishing for the gifted ARC!

4.5 stars rounded up.

If you're looking for a quick, bingeable thriller, look no further than The Girls Trip. I LOVED this book and I was completely engrossed from the jump. Luckily I had flight delays to deal with so I could sit and binge this in almost one sitting.

We got some of my favorite thriller elements: alternating POV chapters, everyone is hiding something, and you are never 100% sure who you can trust.

This book is the perfect summer, poolside read. I highly recommend this one to fellow thriller lovers.

The Girls Trip pub date is April 7!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three best friends want to disappear for a few days each dealing with their own issues in life but then something goes terribly wrong.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It went in a direction I wasn’t expecting and kept me guessing the whole time. The characters were easy to connect to and I loved the alternating POV.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[Emily Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story telling and setting of this. It seemed like a refreshing concept with none of the women really knowing each other, and Hope being a kind of enigma. I expected that each of them would have secrets and naturally, there were some ulterior motives at work.

There felt like a decent build up and everyone’s stories seemed like they were on track to overlap with each other. We got to know each woman and in turn were introduced to a slew of side characters who could have played a part in the story or been involved with the twist. But ultimately … none of this background information was relevant.

Why the author decided to have the “lurker” be a stalker with essentially no connection to any of the women, I have no idea. It fell completely flat when the mask came off and none of the women knew who he was, outside of the fact he was at a food truck at the start of the book. Eve and Paige seemed to be such a background piece of the story, and for the culmination to be tied directly to them and none of the characters we spent the majority of the book with was confusing.

I was disappointed in the twist, and honestly the whole plan they had to catch the lurker was nonsensical. Why would you lure a stalker to the middle of the woods and tell no one that you were going? Why would you put your friends in direct danger if this person was a freaking murderer and not clue them in? Why would you have literally no plan as to what to do when you found this person or they found YOU? I am all about suspending belief but the plot holes went crazy here.

[Debra Shaughnessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one leans more into friendship drama than a breezy vacation romp—and that’s what makes it stand out. It follows a group of women whose getaway quickly turns into a mix of buried secrets, shifting loyalties, and emotional reckonings. The strength of the story is in the relationships. Each woman feels distinct, with her own baggage and perspective, and the tension between them builds naturally.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like for much of this one I wasn't sure what was going on. At first it seemed pretty straight forward, but the longer it went on, I wasn't sure if I could trust the women, just those at the camp, trust the woman's partners. When it was all said and done, it was a bit sad. I'm glad that that there was closure for one person, glad the threat was gone for all of them, glad that the 3 girls seemed more focused in their lives and have a better way forward in life. Sure there are changes, but it feels like less stress for them.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started strong and kept me hooked for about 70%, but then it unraveled into a pretty unbelievable mess. I’m usually on board with unreliable narrators, but this one really stretched things past the point of credibility. The shifting POVs didn’t help; at times they felt clunky and disrupted the flow instead of adding depth.

That said, the descriptions of southern Utah were vivid and atmospheric, and easily one of the book’s strongest elements. Unfortunately, once a character disappears, the plot starts to hinge on decisions that just don’t feel realistic, and it becomes harder and harder to stay immersed. I was invested enough to see it through, but the ending left me more frustrated than satisfied.

2.5/5

[Jennifer Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more. It started off strong and it kept my attention. I liked the three friends the book centered around. But like so many thriller mysteries these days the reveal is wack a doodle do, convoluted, and unsatisfying.

[Kelli Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was interesting, and I was invested in what was happening to the group on their trip. Midway through, after one went missing, it started getting strange. Lots of extraneous characters, too convenient connections, and a terrible plot with a terrible ending.